Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the invention relate to systems and methods for detection of neural activity in a user's brain. More specifically, embodiments of the invention relate to systems and methods for detection of neural activity indicative of a dream state of a user. Still more specifically, embodiments of the invention relate to systems and methods for detection of neural activity indicative of a dream state of a user and the delivery of an audio or other sensory input to the user during that dream state.
From Joseph to Sigmund Freud, man has sought to interpret and use his dreams. Authors and artists alike have claimed to be inspired by them. Van Gough said he dreamed his painting, and painted his dream. While Shakespeare said “We are such stuff as dreams are made on and our little life is rounded by a sleep” (The Tempest, IV.i.156-158). However outside of the arts perhaps, no one has succeeded in answering the question of how dreams can be used for one's benefit during waking hours.
A brief discussion will now be presented on sleep and dreams. Throughout the period of sleep, humans typically experience dream periods. Dream periods (e.g., REM sleep state or paradoxical sleep) comprise approximately 15%-20% of the evening's sleep and occur with regularity every 80-100 minutes. While the subject is asleep, however, the body continues to exhibit many characteristic physiological changes. For instance, during sleep there are frequent gross body movements or postural changes. These shifts in position occur with increased frequency before and after dream periods, whereas a period of simulated paralysis occurs during the dream period proper. As a specific example, during human sleep there is a period of increased motor activity before a dream, a period of relative immobility during the dream, and increased motor activity following the dream. This behavior is then repeated 80-100 minutes later. “Ethology of Sleep Studied with Time-Lapse Photography: Postural Immobility and Sleep-Cycle Phase in Humans” by Hobson in Science, Vol. 201, 1978, pp. 1251-1253, includes the analysis of postural changes occurring during sleep and acknowledges the regularity of dreaming but, never has a means for the utilization and calibration of gross body movements in predicting dream occurrences been disclosed. This is also discussed in Advances in Dream Research by Elliot Weitzman, Spectrum Publications, 1976.
In addition to the lack of motor movment, there are are differences between a dream state and a non-dream state. In particular during a dream period, a person's audio centers of the brain are active. Because the user's conscious mind is not active to block sounds heard during this time, it is frequently the case that external sounds heard during a dream state are incorporated into a person's dreams and their subconscious. This lack of conscious filtering, could potentially be beneficial for delivering audio messages to the user for learning, as well as delivering positive messages to a user's subconcious, such as for smoking cessation. What is needed though is a system for detecting when dreams are occuring and delivering desired audio message during that time.